Bad Boy's Kiss (Firemen in Love Book 2) by Amy Starling Read Free Book Online Page B

challenge.”
    Rachael shuffled into the kitchen just as Max pulled away from me. Despite being drunk, she was pretty darn astute. She paused, narrowed her eyes, and gave us both a very suspicious look.
    Max cleared his throat and pretended to be busy unloading the groceries. Awkward? Yeah, that would be putting it mildly.
    “Oh, Ray.” I put my arm around her and turned her in the other direction. “Can you tell Trey to mind the grill while I hop in the shower? And if you could cut some veggies up, that'd be great.”
    At the mention of me getting in the shower, Max's eyes lit up. If Rachael hadn't been standing between us, I just knew he would have made a lewd joke.
    Once I was under the hot water, I felt so much better. Today's work had been hard on me. I'd gotten up at dawn to tend the animals, mow the grass, collect eggs, and pick vegetables and herbs for the market on Saturday.
    Then the railing broke on the steps, so I spent hours under the burning sun repairing it by myself. Normally, handling such stuff wasn't a problem for me – but having a baby in my belly made everything take longer, and it was only getting tougher from here on out.
    Somebody knocked on the door. The sound made the soap tumble out of my hands.
    “What is it?”
    Max responded. “You got any other bathrooms in here?”
    “Nope.”
    “Mind if I come in and take a leak?”
    I wasn't sure whether he was joking or serious.
    “Yeah, I mind. Go pee outside in the bushes or something.”
    “That how you treat your guests – make 'em take a leak outside like savages?”
    If Rachael caught Max in the bathroom with me, she'd assume the worst. I definitely did not want that to happen. Ray was the queen of gossip, especially when it came to our parents. Hard to believe she'd still tattle on me at this age, but even now, she was desperate for their attention and approval.
    “You can wait your turn. You're a big boy.”
    “But Trey just bet me I couldn't eat his ghost-pepper salsa. You know me and bets, right? Well, I burned my face and downed a liter of water in thirty seconds. You gotta have mercy on me.”
    It was probably a stupid ploy to try and see me naked, but I felt a smidgen bad for the guy.
    “Fine. Get your butt in here, but hurry up.” I rinsed the shampoo out of my hair. “You're lucky you're so persuasive.”
    The door squealed as he opened it. “Not persuasive enough, apparently.”
    My shower curtain was made of opaque cloth so he couldn't see through, which I was sure disappointed him. Still, it felt so weird, being fully nude while he stood less than three feet away.
    If he was doing this to tempt me, it was working.
    “So,” he murmured while he did his business. “We gonna talk about what happened between us the other day?”
    “Not sure what you're talking about.”
    “That kiss. It was... something else.”
    “You want to discuss this while you're taking a leak?” I sighed. “How very romantic.”
    “Eh, romance isn't my thing, anyway. Never bothered with it before.”
    “Of course not. Why would you need to, when you've got a new girl in your bed every night of the week.”
    He flushed the toilet. “Aw, gimme a break. Not every night.”
    Outside, the wind picked up. It whistled loudly as it blew through the trees, howling to announce the coming of a storm.
    “Wow. That doesn't sound good. No wonder the fires spread so fast around here.”
    There was a sudden and horrible cracking noise just above us, and for a moment I thought a tornado had struck and my roof was about to cave in. Panicked, I slipped, stumbled backward, and landed on my ass in the tub.
    “Whoa, Anna! You okay in there?”
    The lights flickered, then went out and didn't come back on. I sat where I'd fallen, wincing at the pain of my bruised tailbone.
    “Anna?”
    “I'm okay. Just hurt my butt a little.” I swiped at the knob to turn off the water. “I think a branch must have fallen on a power line. Great.”
    The whole house was pitch